April 29, 2017

Lightning Strikes at Poland

The long range weather forecast for Saturday April 29th indicated 84 degrees and sunny skies. But as the meet date approached the weather changed to scattered thunderstorms and showers and 64 degrees. Things got rolling well at Poland Saturday until the 3rd heat of the boys semi finals in the 200 when lightning hit and thunder sounded. The 1/2 hour mandatory OHSAA delay kept being extended until meet referees in conference with the Poland AD and meet officials after looking at the radar decided to cancel the event. This was the first ever cancellation of this meet that has enjoyed good weather for 21 previous years. The cancellation was a disappointment to meet sponsors and the athletes from 40 schools in northeastern Ohio. Several events did make it to the finals. In the boys 3200 meter run, 11 runners ran under the 10 minute threshold. Blake Roberts the senior from Hudson ran 9;33.97 to take 1st place. Vincent Mauri from Howland was 2nd in 9:41.93. In the girls 3200, Malina Mitchell the junior from McDonald, took first place in 11:06.31. Ashley Rulison of Beaumont was 2nd in 11:08.16. 3 field events made it through to finals. In the girls discus, Lauren Jones from Garfield threw 133′ 3″ to win the event. Abby Moore from Rootstown was 2nd (128′ 4″). In the boys shot put, Dominic Perry, the sophomore from Crestview won the event with a throw of 56′ 4″, a personal record for Dominic. Curtis Burgen was 2nd (52′ 10″). Finally, Tre Tucker from CVCA took the long jump with a jump of 20’11.25″. Stephen Baugh of Howland was 2nd (20′ 8.25″).